1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an endoscope system for wiping off water and a body fluid stuck on a distal-end face of a rigid endoscope with a wiper.
2. Description of the Related Art
Endoscope systems, such as rigid endoscopes, are widely used in surgical operations. During such a surgical operation, a body fluid, blood, etc. may stick to the distal-end face of each rigid endoscope, more particularly, an observation window, thereby degrading observation performance of the endoscope. To achieve sufficient observation performance, the observation window needs to be sufficiently cleaned.
As a cleaning method of cleaning the observation window, a body fluid, blood, etc. may be removed by pushing and pulling the rigid endoscope. However, this method inconveniences a physician.
For example, in the endoscope disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 6-189893, cleaning means cleans the distal end of an insert section of the endoscope by feeding water to the distal-end face through a nozzle of a water feed channel from a water passage.
An image scope, disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 8-29699, employs a nozzle to eject washing liquid, and a wiper to wipe contaminated water, contaminant matter, and body fluids sticking to an observation window of the image scope.
The image scope, mainly used for maintenance of a sewage pipe system, does not take cleaning and disinfection operations into consideration. There is a need for an endoscope system that is easy to use and allows the distal-end face thereof to be well cleaned.